5 Days Until My Book Release
In 2020 when the pandemic shut down the world it was just me and my little dog, Riesling, together. We sat inside and went for walks and she was my best companion. I talked to her like I would’ve another person and I can’t express how much I relied on that little girl.
One day I told her what style of Riesling she was. The next it was a different Riesling because she wasn’t being as sweet. The day after I told her yet another wine she reminded me of.
From that silliness, Pairing Paws was born.
It took me years to track down all the dog breeds and have them photographed. I had to use 4 different photographers around the world, and coordinating was no joke.
When I finally held that book in my hands I cried. I was so proud of myself and all the time and effort that went into it.
I gave myself a few months before I started working on the second edition, Cat Breeds and Their Spirit Wines.
This book took even longer to get through, as it was difficult to track down all the breeds of cats.
I’m down to 5 days until release and I’m getting excited again!
Five Days Until Launch
Now is normally when all the “what if’s” start for me.
What if no one likes it?
What if there’s a giant obvious typo I missed?
What if I get horrible reviews and my book tanks?
On and on it goes until I’m wondering why I ever did this.
I never broke even on the first book.
That’s the truth of the matter that cuts pretty deep. I spent years making it and I never actually profited.
When the book was released I had all these ideas of donating half of the profits to shelters in the area, but I never even considered what I would do if I never even made a profit.
There’s a peculiar kind of disappointment when a dream is almost real but never gets to where you want it to be. I genuinely thought I’d be saving cats and dogs by the dozen every month, but reality is often a bitter pill to swallow.
In just five days, my next book will be out there. Not tucked safely in my laptop as it is now. I’m hoping this book takes off better than the last one, and that I can finally start donating to shelters.
What This Book Means to Me
For me, this isn’t just a book launch.
It’s proof that persistence matters and that follow through on ideas always have the potential to be great. That you can take messy notes, scribbled ideas, and half-formed thoughts and turn them into something whole.
This book might be like the last one and take years to break even, or it might never at all. I’m still glad I did it.
You can’t ever move forward without taking a risk, and you certainly will never become a big time writer if you don’t publish anything. (I have to remind myself of that whenever I write a blog post as well).
It’s proof that even when self-doubt tells you no one will care, you keep writing anyway, and somehow, that faith brings you to a day like this.
And honestly I can’t wait for some people to read it.
Counting Down
So here I am, counting down like a kid before Christmas.
Five days. Just five! Soon, I’ll be able to say: here, this is yours now too.
If you’ve been following along on this journey, thank you.
You’ve been part of this book from the beginning, even if you didn’t know it.
Your encouragement, your curiosity, your simple act of showing up to read, it all gave me the courage to keep writing.
In these last few days, I’m going to savor the anticipation and try not to worry too much.
I’m going to dream about who my book will find, how it will be read, and what little corners of the world it will travel to.
And on release day? I’ll probably cry again. Because this is the kind of moment that doesn’t come around often, and I am proud of myself for getting there.
Five days until release. Five days until the words I’ve carried alone are finally free!
Five days until the quiet dream in my chest becomes something we can all hold.
I hope you like it.
